Between the Lines: Alan Opts Out

Podcast guest Courtney Maum joins us for one of our mini-episodes, inviting listeners "Between the Lines" with a reading from her critically-acclaimed new novel Alan Opts Out—"a sly, propulsive, and painfully hilarious family drama," according to novelist Caro Claire Burke, author of Yesteryear.  Alan Opts Out, published in June 2026 by Little, Brown, was named a Best Book of the Summer by The New York Times, Town & Country, the Los Angeles Times, Goodreads, and LitHub, and is currently being developed as a half-hour HBO series by Emily Kapnek and Bill Lawrence.  A longtime writing coach and educator, Courtney leads annual workshops and writing retreats, and teaches online classes to both aspiring and accomplished writers. In addition to her books, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Learn more about Courtney Maum: Substack Website Instagram Facebook Writer's Bone appearance Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

"Alan Opts Out is a smart, funny, and all-too-timely tale of Americans on the edge of collapse," writes best-selling journalist and novelist Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the runaway international best-seller Eat, Pray, Love. "[Courtney] Maum delivers wry humor without sacrificing compassion, offering what is both a share satire and also a surprisingly tender portrayal of people who are way, way over their heads, and just trying to be free." That's high praise for our latest podcast guest… and well-deserved. In addition to Alan Opts Out, Courtney Maum is the author of five previous books, including I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You and Touch. She is also the author of the groundbreaking publishing guidebook Before and After the Book Deal, which features contributions and insights from over 150 best-selling authors, as well as leading literary agents, film scouts, and editors. A longtime writing coach and educator, Courtney leads annual workshops and writing retreats, and teaches online classes to both aspiring and accomplished writers. In addition to her books, her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The Oprah Magazine. Learn more about Courtney Maum: Substack Website Instagram Facebook Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

"'Frasier' didn't only define a period of my mom's life," writes Isabella Kathryn Coben, in the foreword to the memoir she co-wrote with her mother, the actress Jane Leeves, best known for her role as "Daphne Moon" on the long-running NBC sitcom. "It defined a period of mine." Yes, it did, and in the pages of Daphne & Me: My Life on 'Frasier' (and a Bit More), she helps her mum give voice to her time on the set, and to revisit the stuff of her life and career. As celebrity memoirs go, this one's pretty unique. In our 100+ episodes here at As Told To: The Ghostwriting Podcast, we've yet to feature a mother-daughter collaboration. In this excerpt, offered by Isabella, we can begin to see how this writing partnership frames Jane's story in a singular way, as author and co-author tap a wellspring of memories that are enriched by the moments mother and daughter have already shared, and strengthened by what they learned about each other during the writing process. "Despite being my mother's daughter," Isabella writes, "I've come to find that I can't claim to know her all that well. It's only over the course of the last few years, in the process of writing this book, that I realized I hadn't a clue who this woman really was." The great lesson here? Sometimes it takes rolling up your sleeves and working on a book with someone you love to understand that person better—to figure out where you've been, and where you might be going…together. Learn more about our guests: Janes Leeves Instagram Isabella Kathryn Coben Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

"This was a tough ask of me, to write a book," offers the Emmy-nominated actress Jane Leeves, as she celebrates the publication of her memoir Daphne & Me: My Life on "Frasier" (and a Bit More). "I'm a very, very private person, and I wasn't on board with it at first. They offered me a ghostwriter, and I thought, 'I'll never be able to open up to a stranger.' So my husband said, 'Well, what about our daughter? She's a fabulous writer.' And that sort of intrigued me." Intriguing, yes. A little out-of-the-ordinary, certainly. And yet working in collaboration with her daughter, Isabella Kathryn Coben, Jane has written a warm, witty, and winning account of her time on the long-running NBC sitcom "Frasier"—a memoir that stands as a love letter to one of the most celebrated shows in television history, with a record-breaking 37 Emmy nominations over its 11 seasons. Daphne & Me tells the story of the show's development, spun from the backstory of one of the supporting characters on the also long-running NBC sitcom "Cheers," and gifts the author with an opportunity to look back on a career that started from humble beginnings, as an aspiring ballerina who landed her first meaningful gig as a regular on "The Benny Hill Show." Another gift: in crafting her story alongside Isabella, Jane has managed to tap a wellspring of memories that are enriched by the moments mother and daughter have already shared—a collaboration that now stands as its own kind of love letter, as the co-authors reflect on a family history that has been indelibly stamped by Jane's time on the show. Oh, and by the way, this episode of As Told To is itself an out-of-the-ordinary collaboration, as podcast host Daniel Paisner is joined by producer Daniel Ford, host of his own Writer's Bone podcast on the Writer's Bone Podcast Network, for a joint interview with co-authors Jane and Isabella, to be featured on both podcast platforms. Learn more about our guests: Janes Leeves Instagram Isabella Kathryn Coben Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

"This isn't your typical baseball memoir. It's about spies and lies far more than RBIs." That's a line from the opening pages of Dave Winfield's gritty, gripping new baseball memoir Touching All the Bases: A Story of Power, Purpose, and Surviving the Bronx, written in collaboration with As Told To podcast guest Alan Maimon. Alan joins us in our "Between the Lines" segment, as he shares a passage from the Winfield book, which was published this fall by BenBella Books. It's a baseball memoir with teeth, an unvarnished look at a life and career marked by one of the most famous feuds in baseball history. A longtime journalist, Alan was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize, for his eye-opening series on the gaping holes in Kentucky's justice system, for the Louisville Courier-Journal. He would go on to work for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where his reporting on police shootings and the court system garnered national awards and acclaim. He started his professional writing career as a news assistant and reporter in the Berlin bureau of the New York Times. His Winfield book marks his fourth title written with a member of Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame, following collaborations with Jim Palmer, Tim Raines, and Andre Dawson. Alan is a Philadelphia native and graduate of Brown University, where he received a Fulbright fellowship to study and work in Austria. Learn more about Alan Maimon: Website Twitter Instagram The Mouth That Roared Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

October baseball is in the air—and in this episode, it'll be in your ears as well. Podcast guest Alan Maimon is just out with his latest baseball collaboration—this one written with Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield. Touching All the Bases: A Story of Power, Purpose, and Surviving the Bronx, from BenBella Books, is a baseball memoir with teeth, an unvarnished look at a life and career marked by one of the most famous feuds in baseball history. Alan is no stranger to the baseball memoir. In fact, he's no stranger to working alongside some of the game's all-time greats. The Winfield book is his fourth collaboration with a member of Baseball's Hall of Fame, following collaborations with Andre Dawson, Jim Palmer, and Tim Raines. (That's gotta be some sort of ghostwriting record, yes?) He is also the author of the critically-acclaimed Twilight in Hazard: An Appalachian Reckoning, a book that grew out of an assignment to report on the struggles of families and townships in rural Eastern Kentucky for the Louisville-Courier Journal. His work on that beat made him a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for a series about gaping holes in Kentucky's justice system. He would go on to work for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where his reporting on police shootings and the court system garnered national awards and acclaim. He started his professional writing career as a news assistant and reporter in the Berlin bureau of the New York Times. Alan is a Philadelphia native and graduate of Brown University, where he received a Fulbright fellowship to study and work in Austria. Learn more about Alan Maimon: Website Twitter Instagram The Mouth That Roared Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

"Our desire to celebrate this magical moment is a tribute to youth, to everyone's youth, when working and playing with your best friends is a dream you never want to end." That's As Told To podcast guest Nick Davis, writing in the companion volume to his critically-acclaimed documentary "You Had To Be There: How the Toronto 'Godspell' Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way)," which opened the 2025 Toronto Film Festival and is currently playing in theaters across the country. The documentary, with a mouthful of a title, shines meaningful light on the storied 1972 production of the Stephen Schwartz musical, with a cast that included a then-unknown Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas and Paul Shaffer—"a Rosetta Stone of funny people," according to The New York Times. The companion book, which shares the film's mouthful of a title, is now available for pre-order. It will be published in November by Broad Brook Press, and was written in collaboration with Nick's wife and producing partner Jane Mendelsohn and Tony Award-winning producer Stewart F. Lane. Part oral history, part production memoir, the book tells the remarkable story of that "magical moment" a half-century ago, when the stars aligned and helped to stage a production that became a launching pad for some of North America's most influential entertainers, and the center of a community that valued creativity, generosity, and connection. Nick Davis is a writer, producer, and filmmaker. His previous films include the multi-part documentary about the 1986 New York Mets, "Once Upon a Time in Queens," which aired as part of ESPN's "30 for 30" series; and "Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived," which he produced and directed for PBS's "American Masters" program. His 2025 documentary "This Ordinary Thing," recounting the stories of non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to rescue Jewish strangers, was nominated for the Cinema for Peace Dove for the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year at the 2026 Cinema for Peace Awards in Berlin. Learn more about our guest: Nick Davis Instagram Nick Davis Facebook Nick Davis Threads "You Had To Be There" Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Nick Davis is a writer, producer and documentary filmmaker. His latest film, "You Had To Be There: How the Toronto 'Godspell' Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way)," opened the 2025 Toronto Film Festival and is currently playing in theaters across the country. The documentary, with a mouthful of a title, shines meaningful light on the storied 1972 production of the Stephen Schwartz musical, with a cast that included a then-unknown Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas and Paul Shaffer—"a Rosetta Stone of funny people," according to The New York Times. Storytelling is in Nick's blood. Filmmaking, too. His grandfather, Herman Mankiewicz, was the celebrated screenwriter behind "Citizen Kane" and other Hollywood classics. His grand-uncle, Joseph Mankiewicz , wrote and directed dozens of films, including "All About Eve" and "Cleopatra." His father, Peter Davis, directed the Academy Award-winning Vietnam documentary "Hearts and Minds." Together with his wife and producing partner Jane Mendelsohn, the noted American novelist, he runs a New York-based film production company and keeps on the constant lookout for stories he might tell in his singular way. The two have collaborated on a companion volume to their "Godspell" documentary, to be published by Broad Book Press in November 2026. Nick's 1990 novel Boone, a wild mash-up of performance art, improv, and oral history, written with his lifelong friend Brooks Hansen, was named by The New York Times as one of the most notable books of the year. His memoir Competing with Idiots, a dual portrait of his grandfather and granduncle, was published in 2021 to critical acclaim. His previous films include the multi-part documentary about the 1986 New York Mets, "Once Upon a Time in Queens," which aired as part of ESPN's "30 for 30" series; and "Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived," which he produced and directed for PBS's "American Masters" program. His 2025 documentary "This Ordinary Thing," recounting the stories of non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to rescue Jewish strangers, was nominated for the Cinema for Peace Dove for the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year at the 2026 Cinema for Peace Awards in Berlin. Learn more about our guest: Nick Davis Instagram Nick Davis Facebook Nick Davis Threads "You Had To Be There" Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

Ghostwriter, developmental editor, and book coach Charles Daly joins us for our "Between the Lines" segment of As Told To: The Ghostwriting Podcast, to share a reading from his latest collaboration—a powerful account of the struggles of first responders in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. Written in collaboration with noted advocate and activist John Feal, an Army veteran who worked as a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero until a disabling injury five days into the clean-up, I Will Follow You Anywhere: The True Story of the 9/11 Responders Who Took on Congress is the untold story of a true American hero who turned trauma into a call to action. In these pages, the authors share John's remarkable story of grit and resolve, alongside the accounts of his fellow responders, presenting their shared "recipe" for getting things done—including the passage of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Published on the 25th anniversary of the attacks, the book has been highlighted in major national publications, as well as on CNN, "The Daily Show," and CBS News. Learn more about our guests: John Feal Instagram John Feal Threads John Feal Facebook Charles Daly website Charles Daly LinkedIn Charles Daly Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

John Feal is a native New Yorker and Army veteran who worked as a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero until an 8,000-pound beam crushed his left foot during the clean-up. As he struggled with his own post-9/11 trauma, and scrambled to get out from under his also-disabling medical bills, he watched his fellow responders suffer and die from cancer and other ailments caused by the dust in the air they were told was safe to breathe. Forgotten by a broken healthcare system and lawmakers who had promised to #NeverForget, and inspired by the men and women who continued to suffer in the fallout from that fateful day, he resolved to fight. In I Will Follow You Anywhere: The True Story of the 9/11 Responders Who Took on Congress, he shares his remarkable story of grit and resolve, alongside the accounts of his fellow responders, presenting their shared "recipe" for getting things done—including the passage of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Working with ghostwriter, developmental editor, and book coach Charles Daly, himself a maritime first responder on the Atlantic coast of Ireland, John offers a rogue approach to the ground game of representative government, empowering readers in all walks of life to take on the system and win. Join us as John and Charlie commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, and discuss how they worked together on their compelling new book—"A graphic but powerful reminder of the horrors of that day," according to Booklist, "and the horrors that first responders have faced ever since." Learn more about our guests: John Feal Instagram John Feal Threads John Feal Facebook Charles Daly website Charles Daly LinkedIn Charles Daly Instagram Please support the sponsors who support our show: Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership The Darling Killers Podcast Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order  Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount